Book excerpt: Things are not always as they seem around the small town of Brangus, Texas. The citizens see strange lights in the sky, and Tillie Brooks reports them to the Air Force. Tiffany Hardamon has a talk with God, and Vessie Lou Culpepper finds a flaming meteorite that seems to be growing in her pasture. A brilliant child named Alpha concerns her parents because she appears interested only in science and galaxies far away. A mysterious ape-man lives at Mabry Clifford's ranch. A novella that ends the book introduces us to "Charlie" Goodnight Myers, a woman who dislikes Christmas but who goes all out to make it a time her neighbors will never forget. The stories are amusing and have an unusual twist to surprise the reader. Welcome to Brangus, Texas!